12 million people have moved since the start of the war

Since the start of the war in Ukraine 7 weeks ago, 12 million people have been displaced, including 5 million who have fled abroad and more than 7 million who have moved inside from the country.

“While the scale and speed of displacement is immense, we must not lose sight of what these numbers mean. Our teams on the ground continue to face the same scenes and stories. Women, children and the elderly have left their homes, their lives, their sons, their fathers and their husbands”Ketty Clemens, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, told Council members.

“Even though media coverage has shifted to other aspects of the conflict, people continue to flee in despair and fear”she added.

However, as many as 13 million people are stranded in affected areas or unable to leave by the end of March, according to the UN, and Antonio Vitorino, head of the agency’s migration arm, said on Monday that an update on that figure is expected later this week.

Women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities have been disproportionately affected, Vitorino said, with more than half of Ukrainian children displaced.

Many are vulnerable to trafficking, “violence, exploitation and abuse” by criminal networks profiting from the crisis, Vitorino warned, pointing to increasing reports of gender-based violence and a history of trafficking in the region. and during other crises involving large scale shifts.

Vitorino urged affected countries to do more to identify and support unaccompanied children and to develop networks with law enforcement to combat criminal networks and traffickers.

The war in Ukraine has triggered one of the fastest-moving humanitarian crises in history and the largest mass displacement in Europe since World War II.

Russian forces have been repeatedly accused of targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure and violating the laws of war, as well as besieging several towns.

Aid organisations, politicians and international groups are warning of an increasingly dire humanitarian situation for civilians and the UN is warning that around six million people inside Ukraine are in need of emergency food and cash assistance.

This war is likely to have a ripple effect on world hunger because of Russia and Ukraine’s leading role as exporters of food and fertilizer, the Food Program said. world, with an additional 47 million people potentially pushed into acute starvation.